Armor Basic Training
The four of us buddies that survived basic training were sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at the Armor Center. We trained on M47 tanks which were being replaced throughout the Army by the brand new M48 series. We spent the first few weeks in classrooms, followed by training simulators consisting of fully operational turrets with viewing openings all around. Civilian clothes weren’t allowed in either Basic or AIT so we were in uniform. Click on pictures below to enlarge.
During my ten years in Armor, I commanded five types of tanks: the 76mm gun light tank (M41A1), 90mm gun medium tanks (M48A1 & M48A2), the M67A1 flamethrower tank, and the 105mm gun tank M60A1. I also commanded an M55 armored personnel carrier configured as a command post vehicle when I was a troop operations NCO.
Next: My first assigned unit–Tank Company, 9th Infantry — 74th Tank Company — A Company, 40th Armor